Ghassan Charbel
Editor-in-Chief of Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper
TT

Ukraine and the Images that Will Go Down in History

Has Vladimir Putin dealt a fatal blow to the world that was born from the collapse of the Berlin War and over the rubble of the Soviet Union? Did he permanently close the chapter of the world's sole great power and "American policeman"? Has he closed the chapter of the stable Europe whose nations' borders cannot be tampered with? Has he again imposed the language of force as the only way to address major countries and neighbors? Has he pushed the world towards a costly abyss more dangerous than the coronavirus pandemic?

These are many alarming questions. The West, which has been deceived by Putin's smiles for two decades, had a terrifying awakening yesterday. Has the master of the Kremlin revived the European memory of images of raids, rubble and refugees? Images the Europeans have been laid to rest forever. It is no easy feat for rockets to rain down on Ukraine and for Moscow to blatantly launch its warplanes on a neighboring country. It is very dangerous for a powerful country to allow itself to open the door to breaking up a neighbor over unconvincing excuses.

Yes, Ukraine is not a member of NATO, but the Russian operation is raising the fears of the entire Old Continent, not just Poland and the Baltic nations. There is no need to recall the Cuban Missile Crisis in the 1960s. That crisis took place in a world that was divided between two different camps and that could fit men like Fidel Castro.

Some images go down instantly in history. The images of the Russian invasion of Ukraine are one of them. They will remain in the world's memory exactly like the image of the fall of the Berlin Wall, Russia's exit from the Soviet rubble and George Bush Jr.'s warning to Saddam Hussein and his family, followed by the infamous invasion that dashed a world order and destabilized historic balances. They were followed by the image of the US tank toppling Saddam's statue and later the image of the noose around the deposed ruler's neck. The image of Bin Laden's planes flying into the World Trade Center towers in New York. The image of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi emerging from Mosul. The image of Russian forces entering Syria and changing the course of events.

Putin has awakened all ghosts of Europe's past by invading Ukraine. A regular army invading a neighboring state without pausing to consider international law. A country that uses missiles and air raids to plant a loyalist regime in the targeted nation. Yes, we are not headed towards a third world war, but the stench of memories of World War II has suddenly returned.

The world after the invasion of Ukraine will not be the same as before. Putin's image after the invasion will completely be different from the way it was before. The world cannot approach the invasion as it did with Russia's annexation of Crimea. Clearly, Russia will suffer from massive isolation. It will be targeted by severe sanctions and will be blocked from accessing advanced western technology. A different Russia will be born from this bloody experience. We mustn't forget that the shedding of Ukrainian blood will not sit well with Russians given the depth of ties between the two peoples.

The West has been confronted with a difficult Ukrainian test. Joe Biden must take difficult decisions and prove that the master of the White House is still the general of the West. The West must retain some of its will and claws. It does possess some solutions, even it needs to cut itself off from Russian energy supplies.

Putin has added another searing image to the world's memory. It is a costly adventure for Russia and the West alike. We can guess who the winner of this crisis will be: China. It will benefit from Russia's return to being enemy number one to the West, the position it was inching towards up until recently.

Putin has upended balances and norms. Yes, Europe may be the immediate stage of the developments, but the Middle East is not that far away, especially since Putin's forces are involved in Syria, achieving Russia's old dream of reaching warm waters.